The Worst "Good" Names That You Can Register to Resell

[Grrilla]

Most of us have, at least, a few names that we consider to be good to very good that just don't seem to get the interest that we think they should. I thought that it might be interesting if we discussed some of our views and experiences in those name categories that should be avoided if resale is the purpose. Selecting name categories that don't work for resale is difficult to quantify, is subjective and there are some glaring exceptions.

I'll start:
1) Names for domain name sales and marketing sites. All of the good keyword domains are long gone, and domain name resellers are not going to pay you much, if anything, for a made-up name that is for a sales, listing, hosting etc site. Resellers are tight wads and, unless the name has some intrinsic quality attached to it, such as, traffic, high keyword value, investment value, (ie 3 letters), etc. domainers are too busy searching and making up their own names to have the time or the inclination to look at yours, let alone consider buying it from you.
I couldn't give away NameScience_com, although after I dropped it, someone did buy it through a drop auction, (SnapNames, I believe). Other "good", (IMO), names that I have in this bad, (for reselling), category include CyberHandle.com, HTTPCO.com, 3Characters.com and WorkingNames.com. (BTW, I am keeping them and they are not for sale and, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have dropped NameScience although I, recently, replaced it w/ NameAnatomy.com which I am going to put to use in the same way.

2) Names for Graphic Design and Web Development firms- ie ExampleStudio, or ExampleDesign. You may be able to pick up a few bucks if something catches a designer or developers fancy but, generally speaking, I wouldn't suggest loading up in this category if resale is your intention. The best I have ever done w/ these names is a swap w/ an artist for a logo or for a small bit of work. Some names that I thought were fairly decent in this category, but were unable to attract, even, a reg fee sale include, HiDefStudios_com and KamikazeDesign_com. Both were, later, picked up, which is always a nut buster, but that is what you can expect from this category.

3) Software development companies. There are some notable exceptions, here- one member had an excellent 35K sale for Spamzilla, and I had a more modest, but decent sale for Phishzilla. But, despite being made up these are both strong names because of the keyword and the popularity of "zilla". Software developers can also be tightwads and why not? They know their way around the internet and it is a snap for them to work around paying for a domain name by coming up w/ an alternative that works just dandy for them. One of the names I dropped after carrying for 4 years provides an excellent example of this, but I continue to like it enough that I may register it again. (hint- it has to do w/ SPAM).

4) Names that you register while saying to yourself, "Gee, wouldn't that make a great product name!" Large companies pay Ad execs and AdAgencies millions to do market research and to come up w/ ad campaigns to feature a new product name. If you hit one, it may be akin to winning the lottery, but you might have better odds at hitting the lottery than picking a generic future brandname for a company. In addition to the unlikelihood of hitting on a name, there is a good chance that you would have TM issues to contend w/ if you haven't TMd your name and how many of us want to spend the money on a name that is such a longshot, to begin w/? Some names that I registered while under the influence of some wild buying spree: Pro2O_com, Pep2O_com, and FruitMist_com. (I must have been thirsty that night). The sad thing is, these were registered within the past year and I should have know better by then.

There are other categories I could add, but I'd like to hear what some others have to say.

PS Please sound in if my experience doesn't add up to your own. Again, this is subjective and only represents my own general opinion, based on my track record w/ names within these categories.

 

[equity78]

Fruitmist is cool Mike I Like it.

 

[Grrilla]

Fruitmist is cool Mike I Like it.

If you weren't a member of category 1), (also, my category- hehe), we could begin negotiating a transaction, right now.

Or maybe Orangezilla_com might tickle your fancy enough and we could work together to make the sale one of those exceptions, I was referring to up above. BTW, as an additional incentive to sweeten the deal, the sale would come w/ rep+++ .

 

[webfreak]

Potential end user for 3Characters.com two posts up?

 

[Grrilla]

Potential end user for 3Characters.com two posts up?

An enduser w/ a reseller's price point? An enduser's tastes w/ a reseller's budget? -OR-

(Now we're talkin!) A reseller w/ an enduser's budget or an enduser w/ an enduser's budget?!!
:lol:


Hmm... I wonder if I should add a poll to this thread.

 

[barefoottech]

Exactly the excellent and helpful advice we now expect from you ,Grrilla
BTW linkwolf.com is doing 500 Uniques day

 

[webfreak]

I'll skip that question and answer the the original one. :hehe:

My first domain name I registered with intent in selling was vbflavor.com. I thought it would be an easy sell, as there are many vBulletin designers. However, what I didn't realize then is that the same designers I was trying to market to most likey didn't have the cash at hand (or weren't willing to spend it) for a domain name similar to what they themselves could register. Out of the sale, however, I made $15, but had to wind up registering vbflavour.com (alternate British spelling).

Since then, I am trying to concentrate on more general topics such as webmastering or finance or medicine or food.

IMHO, I don't think you're that far off with your views. :tu:

 

[Grrilla]

BTW linkwolf.com is doing 500 Uniques day

Ooof! Are you kickin me in the cajones, again Barefoot? lol
For everyone's info: I made a booboo and dropped the name Barefoot is referring to, (I can't bring myself to even speak the name), and I had totally forgotten about my booboo, until this bery moment. Yhanks barefoot, for making my day. Here's a little something else that I'd like to pass onto you: Just for You :p :p :D ROTFLMAO

IMHO, I don't think you're that far off with your views.

To a tee. Now, about that offer you were about to make for that name that I have that is "not 4 sale". I was thinking that a good place to start would be...

 

[gamehouse]

I guess in this domain speculation business, one may reg some strange names then may loose some nice names with traffic or potential without knowing. Especially in buying frenzies.

Thats why, all my first domains were registered at yahoo for 1.99 including the ones that I wanted to develop except one, which I bought here for 50$ and sold somewhere else for 125$. Now what ever developed is developed, and those that are making parking revenue will be renewed and rest will be dropped.

I like Fruitmist.com and I may even want to buy it soon for an enduser with reseller budget

Gamehouse

 

[cache]

I would like to know the opinions to another category:casino or poker. Is it still good to buy these names?


Grrilla, it looks like you like spam related names. I have antiphishers_ com, what do you think?

 

[Grrilla]

Grrilla, it looks like you like spam related names. I have antiphishers_ com, what do you think?

Make that I *once* liked spam and other utility/software names. My lack of success w/ them, (excpt for the one glaring exception), is why I would advise against them. In fact, I just let a few phishing names drop. The problem w/ antiphisher, IMO, (I would love foryou to get a nice sale and prove me wrong), is that "phisher" is not the primary keyword- "phishing" is the buzz word and the word that gets the searches. A company that would be in a position to pay the big bucks is, usually, very specific about what they want. I tried to push "Bugkilla.com and couple of other zilla names their way- (they develop several different types of utility wares), and they started to get warm w/ "Burnzilla_com for DVD/CD ripping, but backed off. (It also might have been a carrot stick ploy to get me to settle on the Phishzilla sale, ie "Hey, we might be taking that one, also, but let's settle on this one first."

So anyways, antiphisher is at the level where it would be of interest to the wares devlpr who wouldn't have the budget or interest in purchasing and who would opt for an alternative name, IMHO. ("Phish", although not the defacto keyword, works w/ "zillz" whereas "Phishingzilla" doesn't.)

 

[Kenny]

Anyone around the appraisals section when I first joined could vouch for my stating I was/am the undisputed King of worthless reg's. I wont embarass myself to the degree of mentioning them here, but a search (if you really need a laugh) will prove out it took me awhile before I understood what our thread starter is getting at. The bottom line is "who is this name important to?"
As the king of 3word29letterofcourseitsworthamillion.com's it took time to realize if all the extentions are still available, pretty good chance it's worthless.
I will however say that on occasion, after mining through list after list after list of generated names you may find a small 24kt nugget within the 10 tons of fools gold... but that still demands an enduser that cant live without it, and that my friends requires diligence/luck.
We who sift through lists of 10,000 - 20,000 unreg'd phrases on a regular basis (if we havent gone blind yet) know there is no "easy money" left in domaining unless you have the bank to buy it big and hope it supports itself until "the" buyer comes along.
I had a sale of a hand reg awhile back of $1000.00, not bad for a 8.95 investment less than a year before, but that name was one of a few hundred still waiting in line.
Use all tools available to us (and there are plenty of free ones out there) and check all varibles before spending your money reg'n new names...

Thanks for the great thread Mike, for n00b and pro alike, a good reminder.

Cyberian

 

[Devil_Dog]

Anyone around the appraisals section when I first joined could vouch for my stating I was/am the undisputed King of worthless reg's. I wont embarass myself to the degree of mentioning them here, but a search (if you really need a laugh) will prove out it took me awhile before I understood what our thread starter is getting at. The bottom line is "who is this name important to?"
As the king of 3word29letterofcourseitsworthamillion.com's it took time to realize if all the extentions are still available, pretty good chance it's worthless.
I will however say that on occasion, after mining through list after list after list of generated names you may find a small 24kt nugget within the 10 tons of fools gold... but that still demands an enduser that cant live without it, and that my friends requires diligence/luck.
We who sift through lists of 10,000 - 20,000 unreg'd phrases on a regular basis (if we havent gone blind yet) know there is no "easy money" left in domaining unless you have the bank to buy it big and hope it supports itself until "the" buyer comes along.
I had a sale of a hand reg awhile back of $1000.00, not bad for a 8.95 investment less than a year before, but that name was one of a few hundred still waiting in line.
Use all tools available to us (and there are plenty of free ones out there) and check all varibles before spending your money reg'n new names...

Thanks for the great thread Mike, for n00b and pro alike, a good reminder.

Cyberian

Great post by you and the threadstarter.

 

[capiche]

Great Post Grrilla. It's a good read. I have a few from those categories myself.

I think it's also important to ask yourself when deciding to register a name, whether or not there are any "angles" on it that you can work with.

By this I mean, that usually, when I register a name, I go through all the research everyone else does as far as Overture, Google results, genericness, brandability, but I also try to have an angle to work with for the name.

Here's a few examples, I hand registered a six letter, two-word .com last year, that the .org of the same name is fully developed and owned by a fairly wealthy company. Now they're interested in mine. Why they didn't get the .com to start with , I'll never know.

I also own the .us of certain upcoming technology keyword terms that are owned in every other major extension by the same multi-million dollar company. Eventually, I think they'll want mine. Especially if .us garners the popularity we all think it will.

I also own the "s" (plural) version of names when their singular counterparts are owned and developed by large companies, etc, etc. These are all generic words, so legal troubles are nil.

Of course, these angles don't always work out, and not every domain you buy will have one, but if it does, it's an added extra and usually the companies become interested at some point, leaving you in a good position. If not, then oh well, you've still done your homework in every other area and still have good names.

 

[Grrilla]

^^Good Stuff^^ Cyberian and capiche.
Going w/ the flow and moving away from what is good to avoid and into some positive attributes to be looking for that go beyond number crunching--

When I first saw "angle" in capiche's post, (OT->BTW, that made me think of a recent reg, 4ngle_com - 4=angle - which belongs to "alphaglyphs", a category I am experimenting w/ that very well could go into the #5 spot above-hehe), what came to mind first was a "hook" for the site, ie something intrinsically attached to the name that could be used as a hook or angle in development that could be promoted, thus adding to it's usefulness, (and potential value)- a more subjective quality that makes the name stand out if you can come up w/ a strong enough angle. (In lieu of not being in the soft drink industry), Orangezilla.com is a name that I have pegged as a site that will sell all things orange, from designer soaps to ipod covers to tennis shoes to Orange Julius mix- if you want something orange, you can get it at Orangezilla! That's a hook or an angle to a domain name that might give it more value. (I plan to develop, but the task of finding distibutors and small manufacturers that offer a unique product and who will drop ship, will take some doing if my idea is to fly).

Another attribute to weigh is the level of difficulty a name presents for development. How expensive will the name be to promote and what will the requirements be in man hours? This is of particular importance to smaller online businesses and, all things being equal, could make the difference between a name that sells for $1,000 and one that doesn't sell at all. For instance, although Orangezilla.com provides me w/ a hook, another one of my names, PCSales.biz, will require far less set-up time because it will be easier to interface w/ online businesses and existing affiliate networks and it will take less time to acheive SEO results. Maybe matching up a domain that has keyword value w/ a domain that is a made-up term isn't the best comparison, but you can still see the point I'm trying to make- ease of set-up= less upfront expense=value.

 

[Kenny]

Grrilla, I thought you understood how unions
work. You had better be careful or the carpenters
union will be sending you a letter requiring dues. :hehe:

capiche has shared an excelent point about additional
angles when reg'n new names, but as he stated, these
are tough to find.

It all boils down to time.
Time spent filtering.
Time spent researching.
Time spent developing.
Time spent tweaking.
Time spent marketing.
And if you have in fact put in the time above,
Time spent banking. :sold:
And that is a good time.

 

[Grrilla]

Time spent banking.

Does that include time spent doing a tap dance w/ a bank? Despite the level of understanding, the insight and the experience, there is no perfect formula and, alas, slow periods when nothing seems to work right, no matter what one does, are, also, part of the package. The best we can do is give ourselves the best possible odds for success by applying the principles that, over time, seem to work. That being said, it's a good idea to leave some room for spontanaity- I wouldn't want to cut inspiration out of the picture. There are times when imagination demands it's free reign and the best thing to do is to let it run wild. Even so, it's suprising to see how often the names that our imagination comes up with *and* that are successful, also line up well w/ sound principles, albeit, adherence to the principles, comes along after the fact.

 

[Fleege]

where would schmuck names fall.


Sedo I think has a category for Schmuck names.
I suspect I have quite a few of these even though I am not quite sure what they are.

Also A fun category would be:

"This would be a perfect name for a future Ad campaign only" category. DiscountWithTHISOFFERONLY.com type domains.

 

[primacomputer]

1) Names for domain name sales and marketing sites. All of the good keyword domains are long gone, and domain name resellers are not going to pay you much, if anything, for a made-up name that is for a sales, listing, hosting etc site. Resellers are tight wads and...

You hit the nail on the head there. I've reached the point where I reply with a polite “not for sale” message when I get an enquiry from a reseller/speculator.

3) Software development companies.
4) Names that you register while saying to yourself, "Gee, wouldn't that make a great product name!"

I'd say these are one and the same. It doesn't matter what business they are in, if you've got a catchy name and they want it you're going to make some money. Tech companies, however, are generally very shrewd in their negotiations. They generally know more about the market and how to research the market then say a farmer.

Most of my names are names that I think would make a great brand, or extension of an existing brand. I figure it's better to pay $7/year for a few years then to have to buy them off someone else down the road. Equally as important, it's nice to have some alternatives in your pocket when someone comes along and wants to buy one of your favourites.

There are so many new companies and new products being created on a daily basis that it's simply a matter of time before someone comes along willing to make a serious offer for a nice catchy name. You have to bear in mind that from a marketing budget point of view paying $xx,xxx for a name that is going to catch someones eye and stick in their head is a great deal when compared with spending $xxx,xxx for producing advertising and paying to have it published for a second or third rate brand name.


Other names I think are good but not necessarily ripe are 4 letter .coms. Barring any economic disasters many of these (even some of the “bad ones”) will be selling for $1k+ five years from now. A four letter acronym for your company name still makes you look big and grown up. End user buyers with, a solid business, have money to invest in their corporate image.

 

[Grrilla]

I'd say these are one and the same.

True. And/or sub-categories under the same heading- one IT oriented, the other, consumer product oriented. I have a, somewhat different mind set when I think about or search the two sub-categories and as you mentioned, the IT enduser is, usually, more savvy to the net and, thus, a harder sell.

Another factor that distinguishes the two- The IT market has a plethora of one man operations and small companies developing product, ie software, and offering services, ie hosting, whereas, generally speaking, manufacturing and service companies in the consumer market are, by necessity, large and corporate in nature and are more apt to have ad agencies and hefty ad budgets. Of course, this is not always the case. The IT sector has it's Microsoft's and the consumer market has it's local coffee roasters. This may be an artifcial distinction I am making as a result of losing perspective from being plugged into the internet. I'll buy that. (Very similar to the perspective that domainers often lose when they think that everyone, the world over, wants, or would be be interested in having, a website w/ a snappy name. There are a whole bunch of folks out there who don't, even, think about owning a website, much less, give a hoot about whether or not a .info would be better than a .biz, .us, .tv or that .mobi is around the corner.) :hehe: Nevertheless, in my mind, it seems that internet technology has provided a platform that has sprung more small, independent "manufacturing" (ie software) and "service", (ie info and maintenance sites), than the non-internet market and because IT is intrinsically tied to the internet in both name and function, IT endusers have some unique qualities, that are distinct from the general consumer marketplace, that domain name marketers need to consider. :imho:

 

[NameClerk]

When I first got into domaining, I was a sucker for names made up of common phrases. I became intoxicated by the familiarity of their sounds but failed to realize they had limited potential for commercialization.

Names such as:

ImGuilty_com (In hindsight, this one was pretty good)
PardonMe_com
MommasBoy_com
PeterPiperPicked......etc... (You get the idea)

I thought they were winning lottery tickets when I discovered them. 7 monthly Sedo visits and an Ebay auction ending price of $2.23 later, I realized I needed to rethink my strategy.

Cyberian was right on when he suggests asking yourself "Who is this name important to?"

If you cannot come up with a quick and obvious answer, pass on it.

 

[Grrilla]

When I first got into domaining, I was a sucker for names made up of common phrases. I became intoxicated by the familiarity of their sounds but failed to realize they had limited potential for commercialization.

Names such as:

ImGuilty_com (In hindsight, this one was pretty good)
PardonMe_com
MommasBoy_com
PeterPiperPicked......etc... (You get the idea)

I thought they were winning lottery tickets when I discovered them. 7 monthly Sedo visits and an Ebay auction ending price of $2.23 later, I realized I needed to rethink my strategy.

Cyberian was right on when he suggests asking yourself "Who is this name important to?"

If you cannot come up with a quick and obvious answer, pass on it.

:tu: Very good point. I continue to fall prey to registering names that I am the #1 biggest fan of. :hehe: This is probably due a bit to hubris- ie if I like it there's got to be a guy in a marketing department, an ad agency, or a small business out there somewhere that likes it. This may, indeed, be true, but knowing that someone likes the name and appreciates the clever idea behind it is not the same thing as finding someone who will buy it because they *need* it and see an income producing use for it.

This problem also carries over into names that are registered w/ development in mind. Registering names that you, (and often others), think are clever, catchy and brandable is very addictive and can be expensive, particularly for those of us who are prone to manic episodes of registration fever. I often justify registering names that I like and, even, love by using the rationale that "I am moving into development" and I will be able to use them in a project, which is often true- nothing wrong w/ that. When I register a name based upon on my creative impulses I, usually, have a vision of a website in my mind and some ideas for development. The problem arrises when this happens too often which results in having more plans and more three ring circuses going on than one could can possibly expect to manage. Meanwhile, those like-minded folks that you had in the back of your mind, that you figured would come around and help you out a bit w/ your "overbooking" never show up and those names that you had thought were so cool and showed so much promise a year or so back, go "caplunk!", and drop.

What is mysterious to me is, how is it that can I understand this so well and, than, forget it so quickly?

 

[smub]

i'll take catagory 2 and 4

mostly 4 though

because when i register the name i just think that...

i have had some good sales too.

Though i take brandable names like osteology ... those type of study names ..

recently i registered osteology.us

though i am taking LLN.net also ... medical field domains because i think those names will get some revenue ...

but its just me

 

[primacomputer]

This problem also carries over into names that are registered w/ development in mind. Registering names that you, (and often others), think are clever, catchy and brandable is very addictive and can be expensive, particularly for those of us who are prone to manic episodes of registration fever. I often justify registering names that I like and, even, love by using the rationale that "I am moving into development" and I will be able to use them in a project, which is often true- nothing wrong w/ that. When I register a name based upon on my creative impulses I, usually, have a vision of a website in my mind and some ideas for development. The problem arrises when this happens too often which results in having more plans and more three ring circuses going on than one could can possibly expect to manage. Meanwhile, those like-minded folks that you had in the back of your mind, that you figured would come around and help you out a bit w/ your "overbooking" never show up and those names that you had thought were so cool and showed so much promise a year or so back, go "caplunk!", and drop.

A good way to deal with this is to organize your names into categories and treat each as an independent profit centre. Set an investment limit, and once it is reached (through registrations or renewals) you stop putting money in.

If you've reached this point and generated no revenue you will either sell or develop some of the names in order to fund that profit centre. If you have a few dozen names it's not difficult to select the one with the most typeins, develop it with some relevant affiliate/PPC ads and start earning $1/day. $1/day will fund around 50 names.

A system like this help give you discipline in your purchases, and also provides you an incentive to monetize your names. It's far to easy to fall into the habit of just registering all these “great ideas” and relying on sales for revenue. By forcing yourself to develop names into revenue generating sites you will have less time to devote to thinking up new and even more fanciful “great ideas” and earn some hard cash in the mean time.

 

[Grrilla]

A good way to deal with this is to organize your names into categories and treat each as an independent profit centre.

By forcing yourself to develop names into revenue generating sites you will have less time to devote to thinking up new and even more fanciful “great ideas” and earn some hard cash in the mean time.

I always appreciate your insight and the constructive, well thought out comments and suggestions that you make in your posts, prima. Tx. I've been making organizational headway and have been in the process of entering various data elements for each of my names in Excel. My goal is to have the ability to pull up my names grouped by info-specific categories so that I can analyze them beyond what I can currently do by using the Sedo or Fabulous sites, for instance. I really like the idea of grouping them into "profit centers"- profit being central to the purpose uderlying the investment of time and energy into the domain name process. I, really, love the hunt, the creative process involved in working and manipulating words and word fragments, using the tools to analyze a name's potential, (ie traffic) and researching the marketplace for breaking trends and technologies. While these activities are necessary to the endeavor I know, from first hand experience, that the "fun", (for me), part of domaining can easily overwhelm the nitty-gritty work that is necessary if domaining is to go beyond being an enjoyable diversion and become an income generator through sites, domain name monitization and/or domain sales. That's the hard truth, as I have come to know it.

prima, thanks again for your good spins and your their substance.